Six people were confirmed to have been infected with COVID-19 after getting their first doses of vaccines, which have been administered to health care workers and patients at long-term nursing facilities since late last month, the health authority said Tuesday. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said three more tested positive for the coronavirus after their first vaccine shots, in addition to three cases confirmed Monday. Two nurses and a medical employee working at the Na

Koreans work longer than Japanese by 323 hours a year

Spending on private education for children declined nearly 12 percent last year amid the fallout of the pandemic, data showed Tuesday. Total expenditures on private education for primary, middle and high school students amounted to 9.3 trillion won ($8.1 billion) last year, down 11.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The average monthly spending on private education per student reached 289,000 won last year, down 10.1 percent from a year earlier

Tobacco-free zones force smokers into alleyways, to the disgust of local residents

Police said Tuesday they have arrested about 40 members of a drug trafficking ring including its key figure. They were found to have smuggled methamphetamine from Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries and distributed the illegal drugs to individuals, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said. Among them is a man in his 50s who is suspected to have played a leading role in the organization. Police apprehended him at a studio flat in southwestern Seoul in mid-February after a six-month m

The Haemi Martyrdom Holy Ground, a Catholic sacred place in Seosan, central South Korea, has been proclaimed as an official international pilgrimage site by the Vatican, the city government said Tuesday. The Holy See designated and proclaimed the Seosan martyrdom holy ground, also known as the Shrine of Haemi, as an official international pilgrimage site on March 1, according to the municipality of Seosan, a South Chungcheong Province city about 280 kilometers south of Seoul. On Nov. 29 last y

South Korea said Tuesday it plans to establish new test facilities designed to verify the safety of antivirus home products to cope with their soaring demand amid the new coronavirus pandemic. The country plans to allocate a 4.8 billion won ($4.23 million) budget to establish infrastructure to test products, such as hand sanitizers and protective masks, under cooperation with the Korea Testing & Research Institute, according to the state-run Korean Agency for Technology and Standards. The

Two Army officers have tested positive for the new coronavirus after infections were reported at their bases, the defense ministry said Tuesday. The officers serving in the southwestern county of Jangseong and the northeastern county of Inje, respectively, were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after they came into contact with soldiers at their units who tested positive earlier, according to the ministry. The latest cases raised the total number of infections reported among military peopl

Police on Tuesday launched a raid on the headquarters of the state housing corporation over allegations of land speculation by more than a dozen of its employees. The Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency sent investigators to the Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH) headquarters in Jinju, 434 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to seize material on the transactions based allegedly on insider information. The police agency also dispatched investigators to LH offices in Gwacheon and Incheon, both located near S

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases bounced back to above 400 on Tuesday as continued cluster infections and increased outdoor activity are feared to ignite another surge in virus infections. The country reported 446 more COVID-19 cases, including 427 local infections, raising the total caseload to 93,263, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Daily infections stayed below 400 on Monday apparently due to less testing over the weekend after exceeding the threshold f

South Korea and the European Union (EU) on Monday agreed to step up cooperation on COVID-19 vaccine supplies, with the EU pledging to smoothly supply vaccines to Seoul. The agreement was made in a telephone conversation between South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, Seoul's foreign ministry said in a statement. South Korea and the EU agreed to maintain their partnership in trade, investment, the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change, according t

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell back below 400 on Monday apparently due to less testing over the weekend, but health authorities remained wary of a potential resurgence as outdoor activity increases due to warmer weather. The country reported 346 more COVID-19 cases, including 335 local infections, raising the total caseload to 92,817, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Daily infections had been above 400 for two consecutive days, with 418 cases Satur

Korea to reassess AstraZeneca vaccines for those 65 or older

JEONJU -- A group of Thai nationals has been apprehended for allegedly smuggling narcotics worth tens of millions of dollars into South Korea, local police said Monday. The Jeonbuk Police Agency said they were investigating seven illegal immigrants from Thailand on charges of trafficking some 5 kilograms of methamphetamine and 10,000 tablets of "ya ba," a combination of methamphetamine and caffeine, and selling them to fellow Thais working in South Korea from September. The drugs we

South Korea's health authorities are likely to approve AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 65 and older this week following the publication of new data overseas showing effectiveness. An independent panel under the health ministry has concluded that the AstraZeneca vaccine is OK for older people, following in the footsteps of several European countries that reversed decisions on the two-dose regimen developed by British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and Oxford University f